Oystertown

It is said that a picture paints a thousand words and this is particularly true of this picture.

Printed in the Illustrated London News of May 12th 1882 in the series ‘Our Fishing Industries’ and headed ‘Oyster Dredging at Whitstable’, it gives us a fairly accurate representation of the industry at that time.

Perhaps as relevant is

Continue reading 1882 – Oyster dredging at Whitstable

Many stories exist about the Great Fire of Whitstable in 1869. In fact one suggests that a monkey tipping over a parafin lantern started the inferno.

What is undeniably true is that a large area from Sea Street along to the Harbour, all coal tar pitched wooden clad buildings, were destroyed. The only picture many will

Continue reading 1869 – The Great Fire of Whitstable